England vs Tunisia will make or break the Three Lions' World Cup

It all comes down to this. England’s opening match in World Cup 2018 against Tunisia inside FC Rotor Volgograd’s 45,000-seater stadium will make or break their tournament tonight. The positivity surrounding Gareth Southgate’s squad over the past month, initiated by their willingness to talk openly with the media and Love Island-watching relatability, will mean absolutely nothing if they don’t get all three points. It’s imperative they start the summer well and build on the free-flowing performances that got them there.

England will need to be patient. Stuttering starts from Germany, Brazil and Argentina over the weekend have shown what an uphill battle it will be should they falter this evening. Harry Kane is hungry for goals, joking yesterday that Cristiano Ronaldo has put him under pressure in the race for the Golden Boot after scoring a hat-trick against Spain. “For sure, [Ronaldo] has put me under a bit of pressure,” Kane said. “He is a fantastic player who had a fantastic game, but it’s about concentrating on the team. Hopefully I’ll score a hat-trick tomorrow and we’ll be level.”

Tunisia, though, will be no pushovers. The African side are hard to break down, calm in possession and playing without fear. Having lost only one of their past ten games (1-0 vs Spain, 9 June 2018), their manager Nabil Maâloul has been in a confident mood: "We are in form. Everyone has seen how well we have played in the warm-ups. We are determined to go down in history,” Maâloul told BBC Sport.

There’s been a stark difference in approach from this England squad heading into their first group game. The family-like feel, born out of Southgate’s conscious effort to pick like-minded, technically similar players who can all contribute to his fluid philosophy, has meant there is – whisper it – a palpable air of optimism. The manager’s said all the right things, the fans are feeling hopeful and off the pitch they've all played a blinder. It’s now time to do the business on it.

Team news

Tunisia squad

In the absence of star striker Youssef Msakni, who was ruled out of this summer’s tournament in April with a knee ligament injury, Tunisia will rely on Sunderland midfielder Wahbi Khazri to lead the line. He himself, though, is far from match fit, having not played since April because of a thigh strain.

Marcus Rashford pulled out all the stops in England’s final friendly against Costa Rica, but an unfortunately timed knee injury sustained in training means he’ll start from the sidelines. Jordan Pickford will be given the nod to start in goal, while Harry Maguire and Ashley Young are preferred to Gary Cahill and Danny Rose respectively. Jordan Henderson is expected to start alone in the holding midfield role with Eric Dier taking his place on the bench.

England vs Tunisia prediction:

Tunisia will sit deep and allow England to dictate possession, but the fluidity and confidence in Gareth Southgate’s team will prove too much. No wobbles here for the Three Lions – just an assured, clinical performance to set up Sunday’s tie with Panama.